Sleep!

When I was pregnant with our first child, he said (and I quote), “Our kids will love to sleep because we love to sleep.” All three of our children were TERRIBLE sleepers as infants. Seriously, my 19-month-old still refuses to sleep through the night! Honest mom moment here: There are some days that I am counting down the minutes until bedtime. Then begins the tough decision whether I should go to sleep when they go to bed, clean up the wreckage from the tornadoes that overtook my house, or watch Netflix and eat my favorite snack of popcorn and M&M’s without having to share. The nightly struggle always occurs, and sleep at a decent time rarely wins. And so continues the daily cycle of exhaustion.

But then I am reminded these days are short in comparison to life. My 7-year-old won’t always ask me to cuddle with him in bed. My 5-year-old won’t always ask “for one more bedtime story.” I have to remind myself to cling onto these moments because they won’t always be here. In these moments when I desperately long for some “me” time or some much-needed alone time with my husband, I often feel a nudge, telling me to take the extra five minutes. And I have never thought afterwards, I wish I hadn’t spent that extra five minutes with my son. Or I wish I hadn’t rocked my daughter through one more bedtime song to watch her eyes drift off to sleep.

I am sweetly reminded of a verse that I actually burned into my brain for the first mini marathon I ran, but takes on a similar meaning for the current season of parenthood. Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Yes, some days are exhausting. Okay, a lot of days are exhausting. Parenthood is not for the weak. But God has entrusted me with these precious lives, so I will continue to search for that balance of rest and being the present Mom I am called to be. Rest when you need it, and take the nap when you have the chance. And in the meantime, bring on the coffee!